Arsenal receive worrying Kai Havertz injury update

Kai Havertz has made just one substitute appearance so far for Arsenal this season (Picture: Getty)

Kai Havertz ’s eagerly anticipated comeback appears to have been derailed following a concerning update form Germany ’s national team boss Julian Nagelsmann .

The Arsenal centre forward missed the majority of the second half of last season with a serious hamstring injury but returned ahead of schedule and made two substitute appearances in the final two games of the campaign.

With his place in Mikel Arteta ’s starting XI threatened by the summer arrival of Viktor Gyokeres , Havertz was hopeful of making a fast start to the new season but thosehopes were immediately derailed.

The former Chelsea star suffered a knee injury after he came off the bench in the opening weekend victory over Manchester United and hasn’t been since.

Reports earlier this month claimed Mikel Arteta had anticipated being ableto welcome back a number of players ahead of this weekend’s north London derby with Havertz among them.

Those hopes, however, appear to have been dashed after Nagelsmann was asked about Havertz’s condition after Germany’s win over Slovakia on Monday.

‘Kai had a minor relapse on his injury, but overall, he’s doing well,’ he said. ‘He is expected to return towards the end of the year.’

Kai Havertz picked up a knee injury during Arsenal’s win over Manchester United (Picture: Getty)

Arteta, meanwhile, is sweating on the fitness of Gyokeres who missed two games prior to the international break with an unspecified muscular injury.

Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli are also making their way back to full fitness having both been absent in recent week.

The Arsenal manager’s defensive linchpin, Gabriel Magalhaes, is also facing a spell on the sidelines after he limped off during Brazil’s friendly with Senegal over the weekend.

Gabriel picked up the injury against Senegal (Picture: Getty)

Initial reports suggest the 27-year-old could miss up to two months which would represent a major blow to the Gunners title hopes given his outstanding form in recent months.

‘It’s not about any one player this year and injuries, it’s about the collective group,’ former Arsenal defender Martin Keown told talkSPORT, reacting to the Gabriel blow.